New DI Press at UC-Boulder

When Imaging Services at the University of Colorado at Boulder installed an HP Indigo 3050 six years ago, it certainly opened a few doors for the nine-employee in-plant. Customers started sending the shop their short-run color jobs almost right away. Over time, though, the in-plant realized the digital press wasn't the perfect solution for every kind of job.

“As our volume of four-color work continued to grow, especially in run lengths greater than 1,000, it became too expensive to address these needs with our existing HP Indigo digital press," says Al Goranson, Manager of CU Imaging Services.

So in July, the in-plant installed a certified pre-owned Presstek 34DI digital offset press. The automated 34cm portrait four-color offset press features support for 300 lpi and FM screening, and can go from digital file to printed sheet in 10 minutes. The new press joins the in-plant's existing Ryobi 3302 small offset press.

"We were able to justify the Presstek 34DI based solely on the volume transfer of longer run lengths from the Indigo," continues Goranson. "With the press in place, we also expect to be able to secure additional work from our campus customers.”

Imaging Services, as a University Auxiliary organization, must compete for printing work with other resources.

"We have been doing about 15 to 20 percent of the university’s printing," Goranson reveals. "With the addition of the Presstek 34DI, we anticipate moving that to at least 30 percent. This will equate to an additional $500,000 in revenue for the department. Our customers are ecstatic about the quality the DI delivers and its small environmental footprint. These factors, along with our ability to deliver more cost-effective longer run printing, make it reasonable to assume we will be able to achieve that goal.”